Baretto: 'This is why Perez will not have a F1 seat next year'

Baretto thinks this season could be the last season we see 'Checo' Perez in the king's class of motorsport. He explains on the website Formula1.com why he thinks so. "The timing of the decision wasn’t ideal for the eight-time podium finisher, with most seats already signed for 2021. Haas and Alfa Romeo are the most obvious candidates with openings, but it is believed both are leaning in other directions right now, while Mercedes are set to re-sign Lewis Hamilton and joining the Red Bull family is a long-shot as they look to keep their line-ups in-house."

Statistics speak in his favour

But according to the journalist, the 30-year-old Mexican does deserve a seat, if you look at the statistics. "In nine full seasons in Formula 1, racing in machinery that has largely hovered in the mid to lower end of the midfield, the Mexican has finished on average 9.8th in the drivers’ championship, peaking with seventh in 2016 and 2017. He has scored an average of 3.46pts per race, having competed in 188 Grands Prix weekends. That equates to 63.70 per season, which is a score that is good enough for a top-10 finish in the drivers’ championship in nine of the last 10 F1 campaigns."

Baretto also praises him for his skills alongside the track. "He’s a team player. From being brave enough to put Force India into administration himself to ultimately save it and allow the operation to rise from the ashes into its current iteration to the high level feedback he gives the team, Perez is regarded very highly. He was critical to Force India achieving their best-ever fourth-place finishes in the constructors’ championship in 2016 and 2017, when they were operating on a slender budget, scoring the majority of points in both those campaigns, racing alongside Nico Hulkenberg and then Esteban Ocon. He can be the undisputed leader of a team," he concluded.